![Head of New Right party Naftali Bennett [L] and MK Ayelet Shaked [R] (photo credit: AVRAHAM SASSONI)](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/443612 "Head of New Right party Naftali Bennett [L] and MK Ayelet Shaked [R]")
Former justice minister Ayelet Shaked announced on Sunday that she will head the New Right Party running in the September 17 election, and called upon leaders of parties from the “ideological Right” to run together.
She was greeted at a news conference at Ramat Gan’s Kfar Hamaccabiah Hotel by supporters who chanted that she will be the next prime minister.
Shaked said her first task is to unite the Right. “The differences among us are insignificant,” she said. “A merger is the insurance certificate of the values of the ideological Right.”
Former head of the party Naftali Bennett said he conceded the top spot as he “put Israel ahead of my own personal good,” and did not care if he was second, third or 10th on the list.
Besides the top slot, Shaked is demanding half the seats on a list together with the other parties to the Right of the Likud. As the only female head of a major party, Shaked also said she wants to open a gateway for more women.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned Union of Right-Wing Parties (URP) leader Rafi Peretz and reportedly urged him not give up the URP’s top slot to Shaked. Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, made a similar request in a conversation with Peretz’s wife, Michal.
Peretz poked fun at Shaked for her long-awaited decision. “I am happy to see that the New Right’s people finally decided amongst themselves,” Peretz said. “Now is the time for real unity on the Right.” Peretz invited Shaked and Bennett to start negotiations late Sunday night.
The URP’s Bezalel Smotrich went further, tweeting a warning to the New Right. “It is looking like Bennett and Shaked still have not learned their lesson,” Smotrich wrote. “We apparently were mistaken in accommodating their dangerous adventures. We must say clearly: If they repeat their mistake and divide the Right, they will bear responsibility for the results. This time they will not be forgiven for toppling a right-wing government and the formation of a left-wing government for personal motives.”
A campaign sponsored by Smotrich’s National Union began on Sunday night warning Shaked and Bennett that if they do not compromise, the Left will come to power.
In an interview with KAN, URP MK Moti Yogev said the list must be led by a religious-Zionist candidate, and that Bennett should be more humble in his demands.